You won't find the address for the 'Office of Legitimate Complaints' listed anywhere in your local phone directory. You'll never see an infomercial for the OLC on late night TV either. So it's quite understandable that most folks have never heard about it. Of course, the 'Office of Legitimate Complaints' is a modern term that only a few of us use to describe an old sub-division of the Welsh Department of Magickal Recourse, so that may have something to do with the lack of immediate name recognition. It has always been a difficult place to find anyway. If you think that you have some sort of legitimate complaint though, it might be worth the trip. Once you do finally get there however, you'll discover that the personnel directory of the OLC is fairly complex too. All those strange names! But I can help you out with that one. What you want is the Office of the Executive Director. Look under 'Arianhrod'.

Arianhrod's company biography is quite interesting and you most definitely need to read that before you go knocking upon her office door. It will give you some insight on how to make your pitch. Oh..and you'll need to make an appointment. At least for the first visit. Arianhrod is a stickler for protocol. But you'd know that if you had read her bio. So let's take a look at that right now, shall we?

In the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, we discover that Arianhrod is a daughter of Don and that her entire family is quite magically inclined. We also discover that they are quite incestuous. This rather unsavory fact provides Arianhrod with the 'foothold' from which to launch her career and will ultimately place her in the Director's Chair at Caer Sidi. You have to admire a Gal who can work Her way up through the ranks! Anyway, due to some nepotism problems, Arianhrod's uncle, Math, found that he had an opening in the family business- an opening that could only be filled by a pure 'maiden'- and Arianhrod did come to the interview with a rather glowing letter of recommendation from her brother, Gwydion. Math however still insisted that the proper paperwork be done and wanted to see some verification on that 'maiden' part of the job description. And so "they brought her unto him, and the maiden came in. "Ha, damsel, " said he, "art thou the maiden?" "I know not, lord, other than that I am." Then he took up his magic wand, and bent it. "Step over this, " said he, "and I shall know if thou art the maiden." Then stepped she over the magic wand, and there appeared forthwith a fine chubby yellow-haired boy. And at the crying out of the boy, she went towards the door. And thereupon some small form was seen; but before any one could get a second glimpse of it, Gwydion had taken it, and had flang a scarf of velvet around it and hidden it. Now the place where he hid it was the bottom of a chest at the foot of his bed."

Well, now how the heck did that happen? Yeah. That is precisely what Arianhrod wanted to know, too. She suspected that it had something to do with that 'magic wand' thing. She also figured that Math and Gwydion had set her up. She was pretty pissed off about it, too. But even before Arianhrod had huffed her way out of the door, the first child, Dylan, had already run off to sea and joined the Magickal Merchant Marines. Gwydion-after initially having forgotten all about the child in the box for who knows how long (And you thought that your family was dysfunctional?)- raised up the second child. Of course, there were problems. As we shall see...

There are frequently problems with those magickal tales children because there are frequently problems in the magickal tales themselves. Magickal tales get revised, rewritten and refurbished over the years. Some scholars now think that perhaps the story of the Fourth Branch is a retelling of an even older Pictish legend. And that would explain what happens next in this story a lot better than is done in the version that we have now. Recent examinations of Pictish symbol stones seem to point to a society in which men and women had equal status. As Dr Ross Samson surmises, "The idea started with the 8th century English historian, Bede, who wrote that, whenever the Pictish royal succession was in dispute, kings were chosen from the female royal line rather than the male. Although dismissed by some scholars as a myth, others have taken the absence of sons succeeding fathers in the Pictish king lists as supporting evidence for Bede's words. Several scholars have gone further, arguing that if women had a decisive role in succession disputes, their power doubtless extended to other areas of society as well."

If Dr. Sampson's theory is indeed correct, then it is not hard to figure out what happened. If the tale of Arianhrod does indeed have Pictish roots, then she definitely has a legitimate complaint. As a Queen- and we see that she is indeed a Queen because she owns a castle which becomes famous in the further tales of Arthur, of Mabon and of Taliesin- the line of legitimate power would have to come through her and not through either her uncle's or her brother's children. She would also have the legitimate right to the giving of names and the granting of (or training in) arms- another common thread throughout the Celtic myths. Hence Gwydion's problems.

"And one day Gwydion walked forth, and the boy followed him, and he went to the Castle of Arianrod, having the boy with him; and when he came into the Court, Arianrod arose to meet him, and greeted him and bade him welcome. "Heaven prosper thee, " said he. "Who is the boy that followeth thee?" she asked. "This youth, he is thy son, " he answered. "Alas, " said she, "what has come unto thee that thou shouldst shame me thus, wherefore dost thou seek my dishonour, and retain it so long as this?" "Unless thou suffer dishonour greater than that of my bringing up such a boy as this, small will be thy disgrace." "What is the name of the boy?" said she. "Verily, " he replied, "he has not yet a name." "Well, " she said, "I lay this destiny upon him, that he shall never have a name until he receives one from me." "Heaven bears me witness, " answered he, "that thou art a wicked woman. But the boy shall have a name how displeasing soever it may be unto thee. As for thee, that which afflicts thee is that thou art no longer called a damsel." And thereupon he went forth in wrath, and returned to Caer Dathyl, and there he tarried that night."

Now obviously, Gwydion would have just given the kid a name if he could have. But that power did not legitimately rest with him, but with Arianhrod. And since she was still none too pleased about being accused of sexual hanky-panky where none had occurred, she exercised her rights. Rather than being the archetype of the 'wicked stepmother' that she became in later references, Arianhrod here is standing up against the seizure and usurping of legitimate power. Understanding the issue in this light, the rest of the tale makes a great deal more sense. You can read the story for yourself, but the short version is that Gwydion had to trick Arianhrod by magickal means into giving the boy his name of "Llew Llaw Gyffes" and then into granting Llew both horses and arms. Obviously this use of magick to deceive her and once again to circumvent her legitimate power did not earn either Gwydion or Llew any enchanted business bonus miles. So she cursed Llew again that he would have no wife of earthly origin. Later Uncle Math and Gwydion conjure up a little flowery bride for Llew. That doesn't turn out very well for anyone concerned either.

As far as Arianhrod is concerned, the misuse of magick for selfish or illegitimate gains will always backfire. I think that Arianhrod might have actually put that out at some point in the form of a memo. There is little doubt that She considers it a cornerstone of the 'Office of Legitimate Complaints' company policy. You might be able to occasionally arbitrate with Her to amend a few of the rules, but this ain't one of them. And lest you be tempted to push it, I hear from Taliesin that she has an underground prison located somewhere on the premises...

So now you know a little bit more about Arianhrod and where she is coming from. Her very name translates into something like 'Silver Wheel' which points to concepts such as karma, Sovereignty and what comes as the results of the choices that we make in life. So if one day you find yourself on the Path that leads to Caer Sidi- You really can't miss the billboard. The OLC logo is the Aurora Borealis.- and the Office of Legitimate Complaints, look her up in the directory. Call for an appointment. Make your pitch. For if you have been wronged through the misuse of magick or if your legitimate power has been circumvented or usurped by devious means, She will be your strongest advocate. She'll take up your case and put her very best people on it. She'll be on your side.

And that's a whole lot better than having to duck every time that you happen to see an Aurora Borealis flaming across in the sky.

I define Wicca as a Pagan Mystery faith that is initiatory, oath bound and experiential in nature, which has ancient roots that originated in the British Isles. However, the term Wicca has been co-opted by the popular Pagan/Wiccan movement that has grown significantly in the past twenty or so years. To differentiate the original Wiccan traditions from the newer non-initiatory groups, in the United States we now refer to ourselves as British Traditional Wicca (BTW), and in Europe we are usually known as Traditional Wicca (TW). To simplify things, in this article when I refer to Wicca, I am referring only to BTW/TW unless otherwise indicated.

History of Central Valley Wicca: Central Valley Wicca, or CVW, traces its origins back to adherents of the Old Religion who settled in the Central Valley of Northern California by the early 1960s. At that time, our ancestors did not refer to themselves as a "tradition" of the Craft. They called themselves "Wicca." Tradition names came into use later.

According to our original custom, in the early days, a follower of the Old Ways was not told who their initiator's initiator was - therefore, the identity of the person who first brought Wicca to the Central Valley of California remains a mystery - to this day, we only know of her by what is probably her Craft name. What is known is that she had ties to England and had most likely lived there - she was either British or had close connection to a British subject prior to settling in Northern California. -- Click for the Full Profile

If you work within an established tradition, please consider writing something for us about it. We will accept more than one essay per tradition, so feel free to send us your own view, even if there are already others posted on your tradition. Please read the Editorial Guidelines page as well as the introduction on the Traditions page before sending your essay to Diotima.

The Burning Times Website - A Critical Resource for us all!Laura Tempest Schmidt creates a Powerful and Stunning Exhibition

"In these modern times, theburningtimes.com hopes to bring to light visions from the past, so that we may better understand our own human history, and will not be doomed to repeat it. The site takes on the sacred tasks of building memory and remembering, but it is up to all to complete the circle round".

A few weeks back, we received a press release for the launch of a new website called 'The Burning Times' and a quick peek revealed an amazing piece of work, crafted with respect and professionally presented. Since we really LOVE to get a graphic to 'punch up' a powerful site such as this, we held up on our celebration. Sadly, lack of time never allowed this to happen. SO... in an effort to help spread the word, we are honored to simply quote an excerpt from the press release (below) and send you over to theburningtimes.com.

"A quick look: New website offers a provocative exploration into the historical and modern day Burning Times through artwork, articles, resources, and more....from the souls of Witches to the hearts and minds of all humankind.

Panic, fear, and mistrust abound... thousands of people reduced to ashes... whole towns left empty of life...

Modern day nuclear holocaust?

No. The Burning Times.

The Burning Times is the title Pagans have given to the time when hundreds of thousands of people---mostly women, were killed as Witches. The time period begins roughly in the thirteenth century, reached its height in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and still occurs in many ways today. The victims came from a wide background of cultures, social statures, and religious beliefs. They were killed because they were different, unpopular, unwanted. Old widows with land were accused of Witchcraft so that the town could take over their land and acquire their wealth. Young women were accused by jealous wives whose husbands who had wandering eyes. If there was a problem with the animals or the crops, the latest newcomers to the town were held suspect. And as the years progressed, midwives and healers whose practices rivaled that of male doctors and the Church were brought forth on charges of Witchcraft and heresy. People began to set themselves up as professional Witch hunters, and it became a very profitable profession. Witchcraft was the Church's scapegoat for all the problems the people had, and women were believed the most susceptible to its supposed evils. 85% of those killed were women. It was not unusual to find only a handful of women left living in a given village after a Witch-hunt had taken place.

The site, accessible at theburningtimes.com features images of the original artwork and installation from the 2000 show, as well as: journal entries and commentaries from the artist, "The Inquisitor"-a search engine just for the topic of the Burning Times, articles written by some of the Pagan community's most prominent leaders, and much more information, geared to teaching, sharing, and spreading awareness. Both fine art prints and reproductions of some of the work are available for purchase, with part of the proceeds going to benefit non-profit awareness, activist, and social-aid groups".

Notes from a Pagan WebCrafterNew Features, More Speed and a Bright Future!

Greetings Witches, Wiccans, Pagans and Heathens!

Thank you all for allowing me to bow out last week and simply bag this column. I will be repeating this little escape in the weeks to come as I spend every precious moment recoding and moving witchvox.net to our new server... Over these past few weeks, Wren and I have made several decisions that will affect the function, design and future of TWV... Here is a quick list of recent changes, some light and a few mini-announcements.

Witchvox.NET Personal Terror: For those of you who have been following our home server drama (hosting Witchvox.net in the lightening capitol of this continent), allow me to bring you up to date. In mid January, our 'ISP' killed over 200 ADSL connections (including your connection to the Witchvox networking pages). In a panic, we grabbed a static IP from Road Runner to get us by until we can finalize converting .net over to .com. This move DID get your networking section back online, BUT hogged all of the bandwidth at this end. Since Wren and I have used RR for our personal connections since our move to Florida in 1998, we have enjoyed blistering speed and a very stable connection. That ended when we brought witchvox.net onto the SAME PIPE. For the past 3 weeks, our personal connection has been all but unusable. When the witchvox.net server is busy, we are 'out of business'. Wren has been surfing for news in the middle of the night AND we have had to stop the .net server JUST to do the weekly update (some of you may have seen the 'down for maintenance' messages).

The Light: The fine folks over at Road Runner (Thanks Leslie!) bent the rules and actually gave us a second cable modem (which I was told was 'impossible' in January). So, as of this weekend, we are back up working at full speed. In fact, everything noted below DID happen because of this *fix*.

New Site Enhancements: Witchvox is a beast! Over the past 7 years, one of my biggest challenges/joys has been to wrestle this beast into a useable reference. This past weekend, we put in some serious time taking TWV to a much more user friendly level.

Two years ago when we launched our .net section, we FINALLY had the ability to serve up dynamic content from the databases that we've been building since day one. Sadly, that screeched to a halt the moment that we launched it. Yes, it was cool and powerful; but we never had the backend power to deliver it to the thousands who hit this site on a daily basis. Our dreams were essentially crushed and all hopes of evolving TWV were put on hold for the remainder of 2000 and all of 2001. Last month that all changed with the acquisition of our 'own box' that sits on the back of multiple T3s and is shared with NO other websites. Look for dramatic changes here at TWV in the months to come.

Introducing...

Vox SiteMap v6.0: Although I originally wrote much of this code (if a different language) TWO years ago, this powerful DB driven Witchvox SiteMap never saw the light of day. The problem was (you guessed it) ... Our .net server connection just couldn't handle the increased traffic/processing.

VoxMap v6.0 was launched just yesterday and features a 'wicked fast' grab of all of the pages in a given chapter. Page results include: date created, page title and author. Also included are the number of times that the page has been viewed, total number of words in the article/essay, and a count on the total number of articles by that same author. LOOK for many new stats/links (v 6.1) added to this critical section for Witchvox in the months to come.

VoxQuery v6.0: At present, the Witches' Voice contains nearly 4, 000 pages and over 5 million of YOUR WORDS. Yes, we have had some flexible site-wide search capabilities for a few years, BUT they resided on our .net server and were just not all that quick. Quick in finding, Slooooow in spitting them back to your browser. All that changes with this new rewrite. This week we are honored to introduce VoxQuery v6.0 !

V6.0 offers you the option to search by keywords, author, chapter, date, or article title. We have countless ideas on how to flesh this out further to better sniff out the information that YOU want. Look for a new/updated version of VoxQuery in the months to come.

Bottom line? You can search through over 5 million words here at TWV in 1/4 of a second. Take VoxQuery v6.0 for a ride via its main page or simply use the 'article search' feature on the bottom of all 3, 900 pages here at TWV!

Dynamic Elements: In the past few weeks, we have rewritten Witchvox to take advantage of dynamic content. We have repositioned our page footers, many sidebars, and some body content to display changes of our choosing near instantly. Pay special attention to the footers at the bottom of our pages for new features and new sections.

How is my article doing? When we feature a new article here at TWV, the author is VERY curious as to how many people have read it. At present, the only way that they can see updated page views is when I regenerate the page and up it to the net. Expect to see daily updates of traffic stats on all pages here at TWV in the next few weeks.

Witchvox.NET will be history: Wren and I have made the decision to phase out our networking domain over the next couple of months. Due to the power and speed of our new server it only makes sense to bring ALL of the WOTW (Witches of the World), Pagan perspectives, VoxLinks, and Pagan Music pages back to their original home here at Witchvox.COM. We will be keeping the .net domain, and will use it for redirects to the new page locations. Every effort will be made to make this change transparent to the surfer.

In closing... Holding back is a drag! Mercifully those days are waning here at TWV. FINALLY after two years, I can once again evolve this site. Our 'white board' has over 200 projects on it and due to recent core level changes, we just may get to many of them AHEAD of schedule. NOTHING would thrill this webcrafter more.

The visit marks the beginning of an inter-faith friendship initiative, which the EDO hopes will bring together worshipers from many various wisdom-based traditions for future ecumenical events, to build a stronger and much needed sense of spiritual community. While at KPC, the Archdruid extended an invitation to the members of KPC to join in the festivities at the Mother Grove's upcoming Beltaine gathering, to be held on Sunday May, 5th, 2002 -- [Full Story]

SEVEN 13 Releases New Video and New CD"We wanted to drop you a line and let you know that our latest CD, "Unleashed, " is available as well as our debut video to the song "DRINK." Samples from the "Unleashed" CD as well as the video are available on our website, www.seven13band.com, directly on the Homepage. The running of the video depends greatly upon your internet connection's speed. However, it is available in VHS".

"As you know, we have changed our name to "SEVEN 13" to represent the balance and unity present within our music and the band itself.".

Two New Essays Featured!Although we DO have specific topics for our monthly essays, we are not inflexible in this area and always interested anything you write that is for the good of all. This week, we are honored to share with you two essays from our Adult Pagan Essay pages.

Reclaiming Darkness in Paganism - A Call to Balance - by John J. CoughlinOn the Internet I use the handle "DarkWyccan" which often brings mixed reactions among Pagans; some are simply curious what I mean by "dark", but many others are downright offended. Immediately I am associated with evil and chastised for fostering the negative stereotypes of Witchcraft. (Actually the "Dark" in the name refers to my style of dress and penchant for macabre imagery but that's another story!)... (Full Essay)

The Reluctant Witch - by Lady MandrakeBorn to a strict and hostile Southern Baptist family of what we may well describe as being extremely dysfunctional, I suppose many things were expected of me. Church was a regular part of my childhood life. Church wasn't a place to learn, experience or socialize with others of the same faith. The church experience was one filled we with fire and brim stone, shouts from the pulpit, screams from the many "mature", blue haired ladies and overall clad, aging men. The isles were filled with tormented onlookers hell bent on torturing themselves in the name of a being that they called "GOD"... (Full Essay)

"We are now in Sacred Space... Right Here, Right Now!" (South West Florida)

Festival At SummerlandReview/Photos by Don Two Eagles Waterhawk

WOW! I know... I know... I have to say more for those that were not there. But its hard to expound when the best description is WOW...!!! This became a festival that a lot of people have been waiting for. And if you did not attend this one, come to the next, and you will agree with the rest of the attendees. Daniella and I arrived on Wednesday and was astounded at the work that had been done to the site in just two months to get this festival off the ground and running. The Land was definitely saying "Oh.. thank you", which was echoed by the people saying the same. The site is nestled in Florida's tropical palmetto, coconut palms, pine and ficus forest with shade for each camping site..(you won't get sunburned at this festival). Each camping site gets a bit of privacy because of the way the forest is set, and there is no lack of natural beauty surrounding you...it is truly the best festival site that I have seen yet around the country. This is a 5 star site in my book.

Each morning was greeted with a village ceremony welcoming the day. Thank you Mino for thinking of that. It truly gifted the people with the energy of the village and land to start off the day with Magic and Medicine, and the knowledge of what's to be happening in the oncoming hours of the festival. Doing this ceremony with the people looking up through the palm and pine trees surrounding the main, (yes there were others) Fire Circle, was an awesome feeling.

We left the morning circle feeling grounded and clear for what was to become. And when I walked back to my campsite I noticed a group of people standing around a shed, pointing, at a large Florida Everglades Rat Snake, an incredibly beautiful snake (harmless), that was just laying there turning its head looking at the All surrounding him..unafraid (which transferred its "non-fear to the people) and as we looked upon its splendor, we received its Medicine of Transmutation... it too helped set the Festival mood and energy.

Ed (Land Guardian) came over, let us know that this is the snakes home, but picked it up calmly and took it over to the edge of the property so it wouldn't scare anyone. But it's hard to be afraid with something so beautiful inside and out. This was the first festival to have many "Firsts" happen within festival ground. One, was that Daniella and I, for the "First" time, did not merchant. Instead we got the chance to be more with the "ALL" than ever before. (To those merchants that have never done a festival without vending, ya gotta' try it.) I now know what I have been missing as a merchant for all these years. I did miss being with Lady Daniella all the time, but I got over it. There were nine merchants, and in talking to several, it was found that they were pleasantly surprised at how well they had done for a first time festival as Summerland. That's a good indication of what is yet to come as this festival grows. (continued...)

Ed Note: Also check the wonderful local newspaper article "Celebration of earth-based spirituality held in Bonita Springs" By Erinn Hutkin linked from Wren's Nest

Eulogy for Kevin Smithby Tom Canfield

It was a terrible shock to learn the news about the passing of Kevin Smith at age 38. For all the fans of "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess", his work will always be remembered. As the god Ares, Kevin Smith projected a perfect macho image as a ruthless, but fun-loving, deity. His character was the sort who enjoys mowing down thousands of his enemies, and then finds time for relaxing in a jacuzzi.

Ironically, his work on "Hercules" began with a more insecure role. Originally, he was hired to play "Iphicles", the mortal half-brother of Hercules, who was always trying to deal with his insecurities over his brother's heroic reputation. When it came time to cast the part of Hercules' other half-brother, Ares the god of war, Kevin Smith proved to right for that part as well.

In preparation for his role as Ares, Kevin Smith had a very extroverted and energetic life in his native New Zealand. He started his show business career as a guitarist and singer for a punk rock band, which gained a following on the South Island. He was also a rugby player, but he was sidelined after his third concussion, when he started to feel "punchy." His wife, Suzanne, showed him a casting advertisement for a musical about Elvis Presley. Since Kevin Smith had often entertained his friends with Elvis impersonations, he had the right qualifications for the job. He got the part, but the musical only ran for six weeks. Nevertheless, it started him on his acting career.

For several years, Kevin Smith worked with a theater company in Christchurch, doing occasional work on New Zealand television, including a soap opera featuring a young auburn-haired actress named Lucy Lawless. (continued...)

Adult Essays for February 2002 NOW Up!...As of this morning adult essays here at Witchvox have been read an astonishing 1, 101, 644 times. Both adult and teen essays here at TWV have been popular

Thoughts on ImbolcWhat does the Sabbat of Imbolc mean to you? How do you celebrate it, and what myths do you associate with it? Also, since it is a "cross-quarter", do you celebrate it on the traditional date of February 2nd, or on the astrological midpoint of 15 degrees of Aquarius (February 4th this year)? Here were the essays that we received on this topic:

Imbolc #1 - by Karl LembkeIn the waxing year, the Goddess awakens. The Maiden aspect awakens first, as winter fades into spring. Imbolc, Candlemas, and Lady Day are names given to this first of the three festivals of the waxing year. Imbolc, literally "in milk", refers to the beginning of lactation in the farm animals, in preparation for the birth of the young. The name Candlemas traces to the practice of blessing the candles for the coming year, making way for the light to come... (Full Essay)

Imbolc #2 - by Erin DoerfferA common translation of the word Imbolc (also spelled Imbolg or Oimelc) is 'in the belly.' That's why this holiday has such special meaning for me: two years ago at Imbolc, I was barely four months pregnant with my first child, and was beginning to feel my baby moving and kicking. Few people knew about my pregnancy, as I hadn't begun to show yet, and the baby's movements were too subtle for even my husband to feel. Everything was 'in... (Full Essay)

Imbolc #3 - by The CheshireMattWhen I was first approached by another Pagan, I thought he'd sneezed - I had no clue what Imbolg meant, since I'd managed to skip over that page of my Wicca 101 book. For those of us just getting into (or getting back into) Paganism, it's an awkward place to start. There are no popular five-day celebrations in Imbolg's honor and no big Christian holiday for us to point at and say, 'See? That was ours!' Granted, there is Candlemas, but... (Full Essay)

Hexing to Heal?There's an old saying that goes "The Witch who can't hex, can't heal". Do you think this is true? Is the ability to hex an integral part of the ability to heal? Here were the essays that we received on this topic:

Hexing to Heal? #1 - by BandelleMy great-grandfather Harry was by all accounts quite the character. Remembering the stories I've heard of him have painted a man that was a larger than life. He was a person filled with an exuberant zest for living, strong opinions and a certain indescribable intensity. Grandpa Harry was of an imposing size with eyes so dark and piercing that everyone who met him felt as though he could see right through to their very soul. Accordingly, as with many others... (Full Essay)

Hexing to Heal? #2 - by Diana Rajchel OlsenIn the Pagan/Wiccan world, it's as dirty as death to talk about, but it happens: people do hex. Whether we like it or not, narcissism is a part of the human condition. We all have a need to feel important. In fact, in order to heal, we must treat ourselves and those we heal with importance. If a Witch is so inclined to curse, we must also treat the person we wish to hex with importance. The key skill... (Full Essay)

Hexing to Heal? #3 - by Rev. C.K.No, I'm not a Witch or a Wiccan, nor do I 'play one on TV'. However flinging negative energies around like it was 'Silly String' is something that I'm more than familiar with. Quite a few seekers that come knocking on the our door are in a spiritual crisis and have either left those paths or are familiar with them and all of them want to 'do spells to get even with someone.' Somewhere along the Path we are all... (Full Essay)

Hexing to Heal? #4 - by KulduniaThe saying that 'A Witch who cannot hex, cannot heal' is one that generates a remarkable amount of tension and heated debate in modern Pagan society. As with many aphorisms, its very conciseness can lead to a variety of interpretations, from the extremely precise to the broadly general. In order to support or refute any statement, an agreed definition or comprehension of the content must be determined. Since agreed definitions seldom seem to happen in Pagan society, I will proceed... (Full Essay)

Hexing to Heal? #5 - by Iko (L. Starr)The saying: "The Witch who can't hex, can't heal, " in addition to being what I call 'bumper sticker Paganism' immediately brings to my mind the conspiracy theory guys on the TV show the 'X-Files.' The show's three computer savvy and conspiracy preoccupied characters often say to each other 'my kung fu is better than your kung fu.' For those not familiar with these fellows, this saying is used by one or another of them as a psychological checkmate to boast... (Full Essay)

February Bonus Essay

The Literate Pagan - by Michelle BarcoskiWhether we look at the statistics , or simply look at our circles, covens and community at large, there is little doubt that Wiccans are, as a whole, highly educated. Most of us are open-minded, tolerant, actively seeking knowledge; most of us have a college education or higher. This implies that we are also highly literate. But what if I were to suggest that we are, as a whole, not literate at all? In his book Lives on the Boundary , author... (Full Essay)

February Teen Pagan Essays Now UP!

YoungPaganEssaysFor

2002

We are honored to kick off our essay series for 2002 with two new essays from our Pagan young elders. Pagan Youth are clearly an inspiration to us all. They are embracing this spiritual path with a passion and conviction like we have never seen before. We are honored to feature the Young Pagan Essays for all the world to see. It is clear that their light shines brightly.

Imbolc What does the Sabbat of Imbolc mean to you? How do you celebrate it, and what myths do you associate with it? Also, since it is a "cross-quarter", do you celebrate it on the traditional date of February 2nd, or on the astrological midpoint of 15 degrees of Aquarius (February 4th this year)? -- Check out Essay One - Two

Hexing to Heal? There's an old saying that goes "The Witch who can't hex, can't heal". Do you think this is true? Is the ability to hex an integral part of the ability to heal? -- Check out Essay One - Two

Spring EquinoxHow do you celebrate the Spring Equinox? What is its meaning to you, and what myths do you associate with it? -- Go Here for details

When Your Parents DisapproveWhat do you think teens should do when their parents disapprove of their religious beliefs? Many Pagan teens have parents who don't agree with their religious choices, and don't want them to have Pagan books or tools or practice magick. How should a situation like this be handled? -- Go Here for details

Adult Pagan Topics:

Publication Date: March 10thSubmission Deadline: March 3rd

Spring EquinoxHow do you celebrate the Spring Equinox? What is its meaning to you, and what myths do you associate with it? -- Go Here for details

Converting to PaganismWe'd like to hear your conversion storiesdid you come to Paganism from another religion? What catalyzed your conversion, and how did it change your life? -- Go Here for details

In Closing...

"A journey will I perform, And to the gate I will come. The hall I will enter, And my song I will sing..." - (The Tale of Taliesin)

In YOUR Service,

The WitchVox StaffThe Witches' Voice Inc.Monday, February 25th., 2002

So What Happened to the Other Weeks Features?If you missed any of our Weekly updates,DO KNOW that we archive the WitchVox Home Pages...

Website structure, evolution and php coding by Fritz Jung on a Macintosh G5.

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